Quite Possibly Impossibly Good
by Rointheta
Summary: The Doctor and Martha crash-land in Pete's World and head straight to Torchwood to find Rose. At the same time Rose is in the lab with a team of scientists working on a shrink ray. Silly reunion!fic.


_This is the ninth fic in my 2013 Advent Calendar!_

**prompt**: "The Doctor and Rose get shrunk down reeeally ittybittytiny."  
**prompter**: resile

**Note**: This is unbetad so I apologize for any mistakes, but big thanks to fadewithfury/foxmoon, who read through it and pointed out a thing that needed to be clarified. Thank you!

* * *

**QUITE POSSIBLY IMPOSSIBLY GOOD**

* * *

Rubbing her head and moaning, Martha glares at the Doctor in the darkened console room. "Are you possibly getting even worse at driving the TARDIS?"

"Well, suppose it _could_ be possible. Almost anything is possible, really. Except the impossible. Unfortunately. Sometimes it would've been rather nice to be able to do the impossible." He furrows his brow and presses a few buttons, then looks from his work, big grin on his face. "No matter! Monitor's dead. No idea where we are. Or when." He puts on his glasses and peers at the glowing time rotor, its colour more purple than the usual green.

"Is it all right?"

"Yep! Had a bit of a bruise when we crash-landed, that's all. She needs a few hours to recuperate, so what do you say, Martha Jones? Wanna go out and have a look-see? Kill some time."

"Yeah. Not dangerous, though, is it?"

"No idea." He waggles his eyebrows and grabs his coat, putting it on as he walks down the ramp. "Wanna do the honours, or…?"

"Yeah!" She squeezes past him and opens the door, stepping outside. "Oh," she says, pouting.

"What?"

"London. My time, I reckon. Looks just the sa– What the…?"

"What?" he asks, stepping out beside her, hands in his pocket as he takes a look around them. "What is it?"

"Up there." She folds her arms over his chest, nodding at the sky. "See anything different?"

"Zepp–" His voice fades, but she can see his lips moving, eyes round and staring at the large airships floating up above. "Zeppelins. That-that… Martha, there are zeppelins…"

"Yeah. Must be in the future, then. No, look." She points at a billboard farther down the street. "That's Angelina Jolie and Clive Owen, that. _Mr & Mrs Smith 2: Get Out of the Kitchen_. So that one's getting a sequel? Wonder why they changed Brad Pitt's part. Oh, d'you think they separated? She doesn't look much different, does she? Can't be very far into the future. But, no, it's saysthey're back. No, I'm sure Brad Pitt acted–"

"Parallel world."

"What?"

"Parallel world. We're in a parallel world. Martha," he says, grabbing her arm and turning towards her with the widest grin on his face. "We're in a _parallel world_."

"Okay…" Although she crinkles her brow in bemusement, she can't help but smile at his infectious joy. "And that's good?"

"Oh, yes. It's good. Quite possibly impossibly good. Probably impossibly good, even." He spins around, eyes flitting left and right until he stops and stares at another billboard at the opposite side of the street. "Aha!" He bellows out a laugh. "Positively impossibly good."

"What?" She inspects the billboard, trying to find something familiar in the model's features, and reads the slogan out loud. "'Trust me on this'. Vitex? Never heard of it. And never seen him before. Is he famous in our world? Parallel… Things are similar, right, but not necessarily the same? Like how Angelina's the same, but in this world Clive Owen took Brad Pitt's role! And how there are zeppelins in the sky here, but back home…" she says, turning to the Doctor, but finding an empty spot beside her.

He's moving down the street, coat flapping from his brisk pace. She frowns and runs after him, calling to him to wait for her, but he doesn't slow down until she sidles up next to him and tugs at his arm.

"Oi! What the hell, Doctor? Why didn't you tell me we were going?"

"Hm? Oh, sorry. We're going to Canary Wharf."

"Cana– That's Torchwood in our world. My cousin…"

"Yep. And, hopefully, it's Torchwood in this world, too."

"Why are we going there, then? D'you need their help with the TARDIS?"

"Hmmmm-yep! Yes. Yes, exactly, Martha! Very good! I'm hoping they have something I… Well, something I've been missing. Something I need. And that they're, well, willing to part with it, I suppose."

"What is it?"

"Oh, something _brilliant_."

"Will we be able to leave without it?"

"Yeah. But it will be…hard."

"Okay… Hope they have it, then."

"Yes! Hope! _Exactly_. Did you know that the Swedish word for hope is '_hopp_'? Which also means…?" he says, smiling and raising his eyebrows.

"Uhm… Hop?" she asks, skipping a few steps.

"Right-o! And _that's_ what I'm doing."

"What d'you mean? You're _hopping_?"

"For my life." He chuckles and ducks his head, shaking it. "Well, in a way. Parallel worlds are like gingerbread houses. And I _should_ turn back around. That's what I should do. Just leave. But…"

"But?"

"I'm taking a leap of faith. Hoping that…that I'll find what I'm looking for and… Well, that I won't leave empty-handed."

"Gingerbread houses…" She considers him for a short moment, watching his profile, the big grin that leaves his face crinkled and dimpled. He takes such quick strides that she has to trot to keep up with him. He displays more excitement than she's ever seen, more than she would assume likely in this situation, and warning flares shoot off in her mind. "Everything's the same, but different, right? Someone who's dead in our world could be alive in this one?"

"Ehm… Yes. If you're thinking about your cousin, Martha–"

"I'm not stupid, Doctor. She wouldn't be _my_ cousin. She'll just be a woman who looks like Adeola. My cousin's gone."

"Yes. Good. Knew you'd understand. We can't… Oh. What if Adeola works at Torchwood…? Oh, well. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it! Pete will understand."

"Pete?"

"Trust me on this," the Doctor says, doing a thumbs up.

"That bloke. On the billboard. You know him?"

"I knew him when he was dead." The Doctor stops, smiling at the building before them, eyes lingering on the bold Torchwood logo hanging on the facade. "Brilliant!"

"What d'you mean? Doctor? When he was _dead_?" she asks, but the Doctor walks on, heading towards the big glass doors leading inside the building. "Oi!" She grabs his arm and pulls him to the side. "Gingerbread house, remember? I have no idea who this Pete was to you, but he's not _your_ Pete, Doctor. He's _a_ Pete!"

The Doctor lets out delighted giggles. "That's what I said. Oh, Martha. I'm not here to see Pete."

He takes her hand and tugs her with him as he enters the polished, sleek, and spacious lobby. To their right three receptionist sits behind a long, glossy counter, to their left Martha sees a visitor's map and toilet signs, and in front of them people move in and out of a security check. Some have cards they use to open the gates, others stand still and hold out their arms as guards scan them with something looking like a table tennis racket.

"Eer, how do I look?" the Doctor asks.

"Friendly? Uhm… Yeah, I wouldn't assume you're a threat or anything."

"Oh." He runs his fingers through his hair, adjusts his tie, puts on his glasses as he moves towards a mirror next to the reception, checking out his reflection. "On or off?"

"Why you asking, anyway? Are we using the psychic paper? What are our aliases? If you're Doctor John Smith, I'd say keep them on."

His brow furrowed for a moment, mouth hanging open and chin tilted up as he pondered. "Off is best, I think. More practical. In case… Well…" he says, ears turning pink.

She peers at him, but he doesn't continue talking so she looks around instead, laughing as she finds a cup full of Torchwood pens. "Not really a secret organisation in this world, is it? Look, their logo is everywhere. They even have– Doctor?" she asks, concerned crinkle forming between her eyebrows as she notices him frozen in shock. She follows his line of sight and sees a man, just as frozen and staring, across the lobby. "You're starting to scare me. What's going on? Who's that man?"

"Mickey."

"Mickey?"

The Doctor's face splits into a smile and he raises his hand, shouting, "Mickey! Mickety-Mick!"

The man rushes over to them and throws his arms around the Doctor, beaming as he hugs him. "Hello, boss. How you've been?"

"Oh, you know. You?"

"Good! Really good. This good," he says, wiggling his fingers and showing off a wedding band. "Got a kid on the way, too."

"Well, look at you, Mickey Smith! Congratulations."

"Thanks! Only a couple of months left before she–"

The Doctor knits his brow. "Wait. How long's it been?"

"Two years since Bad Wolf Bay. Give or take a few months."

"Oh… That's…two years. Wow."

"She doesn't know you're here, then?"

"Nope. We just came here. Me and Martha did. This is Martha." He nods at her. "We, ehm, she's the… We travel together now. Met her a few months after…that. The beach. And four months, we've travelled, and she's brilliant, but not… Well, it's not…"

"I get it, boss." Mickey chuckles, patting the Doctor on the arm. "No worries. How did you find your way across the void, then?"

"I didn't. Landed here completely by accident. Just like last time–"

"Oooh, you've been here before!" Martha says. "Well, that explains a lot. Thanks for telling me." She rolls her eyes and turns to Mickey. "He's not really good at letting you in on what's going on, is he?"

"No." Mickey grins. "Reckons he's got something else on his mind, though. Or should I say _someone_?"

"Ehm, yeah… Anyway, is she… Ehm… That's to say… Has she…? I mean, you've-you've," the Doctor says, gesturing at Mickey's hand. "Two years, and she's very, and that's usually the way things go, and I don't–"

"You've got nothing to worry about."

The Doctor breathed out. "Oh. That's… So! Is she here?"

"Yeah. She's in the lab, last time I heard. They're developing this new thing. A shrink ray."

"She's a scientist?!"

Mickey laughs. "Nah. She's the one who's gonna use it, though. Needs it for a mission with the Mamtros. Are there Mamtros in the prime universe."

"As a matter of fact, yes! Yes, there are. Maybe I can be of help! I must have built at least a dozen shrink rays in my days. I could probably whip one up in ten minutes! You should take me there. So, ehm, so I can help."

"Yeah," Mickey says with a snort. "I should do that. C'mon, let's get you visitor passes."

A few minutes later they wait for their turn at the security check, visitor passes hanging around their necks. The Doctor bounces on the balls of his feet, looking around at everything and nothing, shoving his hands into his pockets, only to bring them out again to fiddle with his sonic. The security guards keep a wary eye at him, but relaxes as Mickey chats a bit with them and ushers the Doctor and Martha past the security and into the lift.

"Just gonna give her a ring, yeah?" Mickey pulls out his phone, looking as though he's fighting to hold back a laugh as he watches the Doctor fidget. He stills the moment Mickey begins talking, turning his focus and ear to the conversation. "Hey, babe. It's me. You in the lab? Yeah, I've got a couple of visitors and they wanted–" Mickey rolls his eyes and clasps his hand over his mobile, saying in a low voice, "She's ranting. Just give her a mo'."

"Who's he talking to?" Martha asks.

"Eehm… Rose. Remember Rose?"

"_Your_ Rose?"

"Well…" The Doctor takes a deep breath and opens his mouth as if to speak, but then Mickey says something and the Doctor forgets all about Martha's question.

"Listen. I know, I know, but you don't have much of a choice, all right? It's from the board. So, you'll just have to put up with a few visitors. Tell you what, though. One of them's just your type." Mickey lets out a few quiet chuckles. "Five quid says you'll fancy him. Naah, he can't hear me right now. Don't worry. Yes, Rose, I know you don't have time for relationships, but…"

Martha glances at the Doctor. He stands with his hands in his pockets, a blank expression on his face, inspecting the list of storeys inside the lift.

"Doctor?"

"Hm?" he says without turning to her.

"Are you all right?"

"Yep." He tilts his head back, staring at the numbers increasing until the lift gives off a bleep and opens the doors. "Ah. Here we are, then."

* * *

.

* * *

Rose huffs and slides her mobile back into her pocket. Bloody visitors disturbing her and the team of scientists working on the shrink ray, as though the tight deadline hasn't put them under enough stress already. She picks up the gadget, its handle feeling smooth and cool in her hand. Maybe she should test it on those annoying people. She narrows her eyes and directs it at the door, finger at the trigger, even though the aim doesn't work yet.

"Rose, be careful with that," Penny, one of the scientists says, giving her a stern look before returning her attention to her computer. "We don't want to accidentally shrink anyone, do we?"

"I'm not stupid. You think I'd actually–"

The door opens and Rose lets out a squeak as she sees who's stepping through it. She breathes out his name and drops the shrink ray; it crashes to the floor and a buzzing sensation floods through her body before the lights go out and she falls on her bum. She pushes herself up from the floor with sluggish movements, groaning and touching her pounding head. Although she wore trainers today and this storey has linoleum floors, she feels soft carpet under her bare feet and a blanket hangs over her head. The unpleasant odour of foot fills up her nose, blocking out every other smell.

She fumbles around after the wall to find the light-switch, mumbling out her surprise over finding herself surrounded by the blanket. No. Wait. Her sock. The fogginess begins to disperse and she grips the fabric in her fists, feeling her way toward the mouth of her shoe.

"Oh, bloody hell. Suppose I _am_ stupid, then. Stupid and stuck in a shoe." She lets out a mirthless chuckle. "Stupid, tiny, _naked_, and stuck in a shoe. Bloody brilliant."

"Rose," she hears someone call, voice too muffled for her to recognise it.

"Yeah?" she shouts, forcing her voice to carry through the heap of clothing she suspects covers her.

"It's… Ehm. It's the Doctor. I seem to be inside a shoe as well."

"Doctor?" She laughs, happiness bubbling in her chest now that she remembers what caused her to drop the shrink ray in the first place. She climbs out of her shoe, balancing on its tongue as she tries to push away her trouser leg to get a clear view. "Doctor?! Are you really here?" she shouts.

"Yes. No need to shout, Rose. I can hear you quite well. Got a good pair of ears on me. I might be a bit, ehm, naked, though, so…well…"

"Just a bit, huh? Are you– Ugh."

Grunting, she tries to find her way out of all the fabric, but still keep some around her body for cover, and with a final push, she manages to free most of herself. She surveys the room and notices first a pinstriped puddle of fabric in front of her, then a regular sized Mickey grinning at her from the doorway. She blushes and tugs up some fabric over her body, holding one hand out, palm up, and shrugs. Mickey's grin grows wider and he points at the pile of suit, making a thumbs up before nodding at the scientists–also regular sized–to follow him outside. They roll their eyes and put on a show of being disgruntled, but get up and walk out the door without protest.

Mickey signals her thirty minutes by winking his outstretched fingers three times, mouthing, "Have fun."

Returning her attention to the heap of the Doctor's clothes, Rose sees movement under the fabric, and a second later the Doctor's head pops out.

"Hello," he says, eyes crinkling as he gives her one of the brightest smiles she's ever seen. "Thought I heard you come out."

She draws in a shuddering breath, beaming at him. "Doctor. You're really here." Her heart flutters in her chest, nose tingling as she tears up, body aching to hug him. "Stay right there. I'm coming over," she says as she slides down her trainer.

He clasps his hand over his eyes. "Rose. We're…we're _naked_."

"I don't care. I really don't care," she says, running towards him.

She reaches up and pushes herself on top of his shoe, using the laces to climb up to him. He's yet to move his hand, but holds out the other one, so she grabs it and lets him help her inside his shoe. She can't see a thing, but he stands close enough for her to feel soft skin brushing against her hip, thigh and arms, so she throws caution to the wind and herself into his arms. He makes a squeaky noise when their bodies collide and stiffens for the briefest moment, but returns the embrace and relaxes, holding her close as she burrows her face into his neck.

"I missed you," she says, squeezing him as tight as she can, bodies connecting from head to toe.

"Yes, but-but… Rose, I'm naked. And so are you. Naked. Very, _very_ naked. Not a thread on your whole body. Which I'm feeling. Against my body. Which is also naked. Did I mention that we're naked?"

"Nope. News to me." She breathes him in, exhaling with a hum. "You smell good."

"Yes, that's…fortunate. Wouldn't want to smell bad now that…we're…naked. Together. In the dark. Hugging. Still. Still hugging. For how long are we hugging, exactly?"

"Oh, my god." She steps back, rolling her eyes. Her body buzzes where their skin touched and, although it's warm inside his shoe, she feels cold from the loss and hugs her waist. "Your sock smells better than mine as well."

"I don't get body odour quite like humans do."

"Yeah, I remember." She pauses, swaying a bit where she stands. "I'm sorry for shrinking you. Didn't mean to. Suppose it went off when it hit the floor."

"Weeell, stuck with you in a shoe. That's not so bad."

"Yeah?" She laughs. "So, how've you been?"

"Oh, you know…"

"Same old-same old?"

"Yeah… No." He sighs. "Oh, Rose. It's been awful."

She grins. "Yeah?"

"Yes. _I've_ been awful."

"Me too." She steps closer and pokes him in the chest. "Took you long enough to come and get me."

"I'm sorry. I tried. For so long. But I couldn't find a way."

"Then how are you…?"

"No idea. We crashed, stepped outside, and there it was, a sky full of zeppelins. Walked straight over here, hoping I'd find… Well, you, and thensomeone shrunk us. Quite the welcome, that, Rose Tyler."

"Yeah, sorry… Hold on. Us? You said 'us'."

"Oh. Yes. Me and Martha. Suppose you shrunk her, too. Ooh, she won't be happy about that."

"Martha?"

"Ehm… Yeah. Yep. Martha. Travels with me, Martha does. Ehm…she's, er, weeeell…"

His spluttering makes her pulse race, unpleasant suspicions whirling around in her head; she steps back, covering up her body with her arms. "Are you two…?" she asks, voice rough and quiet.

"What? No! No, no, no. No!" He pulls her in for a hug, tucking her head under his chin, and she curls her hands over his shoulders. "No, definitely not. She-she fancies me. And we…we kissed once. To save people! It was to save people. Nothing… It meant _nothing_. And I told her that. She knows that I don't… Rose, I don't."

She sniffs. "Well, I've hugged you naked. Twice."

His stomach moves against hers as he laughs. "Quite right. And still are. Which is a bit…weird. Isn't this a bit weird?" he asks, but he doesn't loosen his hold.

"I don't think so." She snuggles her face into his chest and moves one hand to the back of his head, fingers running through his hair. "I don't really wanna let go."

He hums, chin nudging the top of her head as he nods. "Me neither."

"Not ever."

"Well, that can be a bit impractical, don't you reckon? Mind you, we're a brilliant team, but I think even we would find it difficult to save the world like this."

"Yeah, you might have a point," she says, giggling. "Doctor?"

"Hm?"

"I have a confession to make," she says and hears soft, rapid thuds against her ear as his heartbeats speed up.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. We're not done with the shrink ray yet. Uhm, if you activate it, anything alive within a two meter radius shrinks, and–"

"Yes, I gathered," he says, chuckling.

"Yeah. And we don't know how to unshrink things."

"Ah. Well, I can solve that for you in five minutes. If I have someone who can be my hands, that is. Mine are a bit small at the moment," he says, squeezing her waist, and her stomach swoops.

"Yeah, thing is. The effect doesn't last either. Sticks for half an hour, right, then you're regular sized again. At least that's what happened when they've tried it out on Penny and Lars. So, we really just need to wait."

"Oh. That's good."

"Yeah. And I only shrunk you and me. Was only one heap of clothes on the floor except mine, and that was yours."

"Ooh, that's even better. Then Martha won't be mad at me."

"Mm. I've-I've got one more confession."

"Oh?"

"We're all alone. Mickey and the others left."

"I see. And…why did they do that?"

"Uhm…" She swallows. "Dunno."

"You don't?"

"I… Uhm…"

"So we're alone for half an hour, naked, and in a shoe."

"We don't need to stay in the shoe, though."

"Right."

"There's a lot of soft fabric out there. Uhm, outside the shoe."

"Hm… And what do you propose we do with all that fabric, then, Rose?"

"Well… We've not seen each other for a very long time. So, if you ask me–"

"Which I did."

"Right. Which you did. Well, since you asked me, now that I've not seen you for years and years, I'd say that I'd like to see as much of you as I can."

He makes an amused sound in the back of his throat. "Literally?"

"Well, yeah. You _are_ naked. So…just seemed logical to me, you know what I mean?"

"Ah. Yes, yes I think I do."

"And you've never really been one to argue with logic, have you?"

"No. Can't say I have."

"Exactly." She smiles, fingers sliding from his neck to his jawline and up his cheek, cupping it as she pulls back a little. "Did you ever regret that we never…?"

He lets out a breathy chuckle. "Every day."

"Well, then?" she whispers, rising on tip-toes. "Wanna do something about it?"

He places his hands over hers, removes it from his face and steps back. Disappointment crashes through her and her chest tightens, stomach churning and lips falling open to stutter out an apology, but he doesn't let go of her hand and his thumbs brush over her skin, so she bites her lip and stays.

"I refuse to kiss you for the first time inside a shoe, Rose. So… Wanna climb out of the shoe with me?"

"And do what?" she asks, grinning.

"Hm…" He leans in and nuzzles her nose. "Something quite possibly impossibly good."

She shrugs. "Well, got half an hour to kill. Suppose that could do."

He laughs and tugs her along, tumbling down the plimsoll with her. Lips find lips and limbs tangle as the Doctor and Rose roll in a sea of soft, pinstriped cotton, coming together at long last.

* * *

**the end**


End file.
